Have you ever noticed that some cars just seem to handle better than others? Same kit, same setup, same tires and etc. So what makes the difference? Most likely it all boils down to preparation. Preparation begins the day you bring the car kit home in the box. Your attitude, work area, attention to detail and the quality of your tools are as important as experience.
Attitude:
Locktite™s almost like a Zen thing. If you go into this only thinking about getting on the track as quick as you can then your results will suffer. If you make the commitment to build every assembly perfectly then chances are it will turn out much better. Work area: If it is cluttered and messy you will lose parts, make errors in assembly or be confused by the instructions. Give yourself a generous clear clean flat work area. Make sure it is well lit and that you have a comfortable chair. You are going to be there for a while. It is good to have a few shallow 6¯ inch or larger bowls to hold the contents of each bag you open. It is also a good idea to have a bucket to drop the empty bags into after you empty them. Sometimes small parts stick to the bag and go unnoticed until you get to the point where you need them. Before calling the store or emailing the manufacturer you can go through all the bags again to look for the parts. It is so much nicer to look through a bucket of clean bags than it is to dig through a stinky trash can.
Tools:
Building a precision R/C car kit with bad tools is going to be difficult at best. If your budget allows, buy good quality tools. They cost a little more to buy but in the long run they will save you money. You can get them just about anywhere (stay away from the $1.99 bins) but we recommend that you buy from your LHS (or us if they don't have them but) because they are specifically designed for this application. The handles are the right size to keep you from over torquing screws into plastic and they are the right length to reach into those tight areas. A second choice is Sears. Good tools and guaranteed forever. If you are thinking OMG he's plugging another store please realize that our goal is to support the customer fully. We are here to support you, the customer.
Attention to detail:
Even if you have all of the above, if you don't pay attention to every detail in the instructions you CANNOT build the perfect car. Take your time. Read the instructions before you start building. Go to our assembly tips page and look up the notes for your car. I have built at least one of everything we sell. I took notes not jus during the build but also at the track setting it up. Sometimes you learn something while driving the car that wasnā€™t apparent while building it. It is a lot easier to build the car than it is to tear it back down to change something. If you find yourself daydreaming or rushing to get done then you should just get up and do something else for a while. Modern kits are too complicated to just slap together.
Here are some things that have helped me build my cars:
1. Use scissors to cut open all those plastic bags. Tearing them open often leads to losing parts when the bag tears suddenly and they go flying off into the distance. It also ensures that you don't miss parts hiding in the folds of the distorted bag.
2. Empty the bag into one of the aforementioned bowls. Then inspect, trim or prepare each piece before transferring every part into another bowl. Don't assemble anything until you have inspected every piece.
3. Every part that is injection molded will have flash and parting lines. Trim them all before assembling the parts.
4.If a part has a hole for a pivot (e.g. hinge pin) then you need to prepare it. First trim off any casting flash by the hole (I use a file or a piece of 600 grit wet / dry sandpaper taped to a flat surface). Be careful not to take too much off. You just want to get rid of the flash. Then countersink the hole on both ends. This gets rid of the flash at the end of the hole that causes the pin to bind. Then run a reamer into the hole. This ensures that the hole is straight, round and the right size. Finally blow the part off with compressed air. If you don't have access to a compressor you can buy cans of air from the computer department at most stores. You do not need a lot, just enough to clean the dust out of the hole.
5. Fit each part. l use Suspension arms for an example. Before you put an arm on the bulkhead put the pin in it. Does it turn freely? If not then it needs to have the reamer run through it again. If it binds on the pin then it will affect handling. When the pin turns freely you are ready to install the arm. Does it move freely? If not then we know that the problem is not with the pin so it must be that the arm is too long for the opening. To correct this we use 600 grit wet / dry paper taped to a flat surface or a file. Make certain that you hold the part perfectly perpendicular to the sandpaper. Wipe it across the paper one time, then blow it off with compressed air and try it again. If it is still too tight repeat the process until you get a smooth, rotation of the arm on the assembly. Do the same with everything that moves.
6. Be accurate in your assembly. If the instruction says the finished turnbuckle assembled length says 50mm long. It means 50mm. Not 49.5mm or 50.2mm. The tool for this is a digital caliper. Keep adjusting until you get it right. I try to get it no more than .01mm off. When there is a left and right turnbuckle it is VERY important to get both of them equal length. On the subject of turnbuckles, it is not enough to just get them the right length. It is important that both ends have the same amount of thread engagement. When you get it close to the right length check to see if both ends have the same amount of thread exposed? If not back one out and tighten the other until it is the right length and the same number of threads show on both ends. This will keep you from bottoming out one end and stripping the threads in the ball end. If this happens your car will readjust itself every time you drive. It will go from good handling to evil without warning.
7. Locktite is your friend. Aside from making sure you don't end up a DNF, it will make your car more consistent and keep you from pissing off the carpet track owner when you put holes in his carpet from a loose screw dragging.
8. Build the shocks first. To get the shocks right you really need to spend some time with them and concentrate on every detail. It also takes some time for all the air bubbles to work their way out of the fluid the first time the shocks are built. Usually the shocks are one of the last steps. After you have been working on your kit for 8 hours or so it is not the time to start on an aspect that requires so much patience and has such a great impact on the performance of the vehicle.
There is much more to this. Which is why it is a topic on the forum. We invite everyone to give us their tips on building the perfect kit.
Wolf Hobbies
